For Mabel
by Pan-Tastique
Summary: On his quest to save his sister, Dipper must make a difficult decision. But whatever tricks Bill has in store for him, he'll go through them all to save her. For Mabel. (November 1, 2015 Characters Alex Hirsch Story Pan-tastique Please do not repost, copy or re-upload any content related to this story without permission. The sequel, "For Dipper", is on its way.)


Dipper, Wendy and Soos watched as Gideon and his henchmen rode off in the direction of Bill's pyramid. They were ready to kick some ass, which made Dipper wonder.

Was _he_ ready to kick ass, too? He honestly didn't know; but if he had to kick ass in order to save his sister, he would be ready.

Dipper heard Soos say something in the background – something about throwing down – or up, he wasn't entirely sure – and slowly started to walk toward the gigantic, pink bubble that was keeping Mabel trapped.

"Okay, remember, guys," Dipper said, sounding more determined than he'd expected when he turned his head toward Wendy, who looked at him. "This is a prison bubble designed _by_ Bill. We've _got_ to prepare ourselves for what we find in here."

Soos looked at him, with a determined grin on his face. "Whatever it is," he said, "we'll do it _together.  
For Mabel_!"

The handyman had stuck out his hand in front of Dipper, as if they were about to do a team rally cry.

And they were.

"For Mabel!" Wendy quickly joined in. Dipper knew everyone here wanted to save Mabel, to do what was best for her. He'd have the two of them by his side; he wouldn't have to do this alone.

And that thought, gave him strength as he said, "For Mabel."

He walked forward, placing the key in the triangular-shaped lock. Of course it had to look like Bill's face. _Everything_ looked like Bill's face now.

The chains came loose, and fell down into the valley – Dipper hoped they wouldn't hurt anyone as they came down.

That was, of course, _if_ there were still people dumb – or brave – enough to be out on the streets by now.

Dipper took both his friends by the hand as they walked into the bubble, which was now ready for them to enter.

Mabel was waiting for them to come to her rescue. And rescue her they would.

The inside of the prison bubble was a lot different than Dipper would've expected it to be. It looked like some kind of dream version of Gravity Falls, as if Mabel's happiness and weirdness got mixed up with Bill's darkness and chaos.

Kind of like the Weirdmageddon that was going on outside the bubble, but then with... unicorns?

"How are we going to find Mabel here?" Wendy said. "Also... what _is_ this place?"

"Mabel's Weirdmageddon," Dipper said. "I think."

"So that pretty much means that we're screwed both inside as well as outside this bubble, dudes," Soos said. "Better find Mabel and get her out of here... this place gives me more creeps than the _actual_ apocalypse."

"Agreed," Wendy said. "Let's go, shall we?"

"Yeah..." Dipper mumbled, while rubbing his chin. "Let's go... but... _where to_?"

And suddenly, as if she'd heard him think, Dipper heard a familiar voice calling out his name. It sounded far away, but still close enough to be unmistakably Mabel's voice.

"Dipper? Where are you?" Mabel shouted. "DIPPER!"

"MABEL!" Dipper shouted back, while running off into the direction where Mabel's voice had come from. "We've got to find her, guys! She's in here somewhere; just avoid Mabel's Weirdpocalypse!"

That was easier said than done. There were doppelgangers of Gravity Falls inhabitants all over the place, who were running from the weirdness bubbles and gigantic cats.  
There was even an enlarged version of Waddles - similar to what had happened to Gomper outside the bubble.

The only difference here was the one powering this very Odpocalypse. It wasn't Bill; he'd just simply put Mabel's imagination in a similar scenario to what was happening outside.

The one powering this Oddpocalypse was Mabel. As long as Mabel proceeded to look for her family, feeling guilty, scared and alone, this bubble would – probably – remain intact.

So... to break Bill's illusion, it probably meant that they just had to reach Mabel and free her from her fear.

But then again, that was easier said than done. A _lot_ easier said. But it was worth a try – Dipper was not planning on leaving this bubble without Mabel. Not without his sister, safe and sound.

...Or, at least as safe as they could be. Because of course Bill would be after them as soon as he'd find out Gideon had betrayed him and Dipper had freed Mabel – poor Gideon.

 _Really? Poor Gideon?_ Dipper thought. _Yes. Poor Gideon. God knows what Bill will be doing to him – he'll probably be turned to stone by the eye-bats. Or worse. Of course it's possible he might escape, but Bill..._

 _Well, Bill is Bill. There's no way around that._

"Dipper, stay focused! That's the second time we had to save your butt!"

"Sorry, Wendy!" Dipper yelled, rudely pulled out of his thoughts by Wendy tugging him out of a weirdness bubble's tracks. He hadn't really been focusing.

Something which might've come in handy, obviously.

"MABEL!" Dipper yelled; his friends followed his example. "MABEL! WHERE ARE YOU?"

And there it was again. His sister's voice, sounding far away like an echo, but finally recognizing the voice calling her name. "DIPPER! Is that you?"

"Dude!" Soos said. "Did you hear that? It's Mabel!"

Dipper nodded at him, acknowledging that he'd heard it too. It indeed _was_ Mabel. The trio stopped running, and Dipper started to scan the area for any sign of Mabel. Anything that could lead him straight to her would suffice.

Her voice had sounded much closer this time. She had to be within sight in order to be within earshot, right? Did she?

And suddenly, when a cat's paw was lifted, Dipper saw her. Looking distressed and pale; her eyes quickly found his, and both of the twins' faces lit up.

"MABEL!" Dipper cried happily.

"DIPPER!" he heard his own name in response.

The two just started running toward each other, regardless of the rainbow blasts, cat paws trampling everything and weirdness bubbles floating around. They'd been reunited.

This was no time for an awkward sibling hug. No; this had to be the best, most bone-crushing sibling-approved hug ever.

"Mabel, I am so sorry," Dipper whispered as he embraced his sister. "I've been such an inconsiderate jerk."

"You weren't the one who caused grunkle Ford's space-globe to break," Mabel responded. Her voice trembled, and sounded very thin.

"You mean the rift?" Dipper said, letting out a faint chuckle. "It's okay, Mabel. It was probably bound to happen sometime..."

" _But neither you nor Six-fingers would've given it to me personally, huh, Pine Tree_?"

Dipper instantly turned around, guarding Mabel with his body. "Bill," he spewed. He didn't know Mabel had _given_ the rift to Bill and didn't know _why_ she'd done it; but he didn't blame her. He'd tricked her. That was for sure.

" _Oh, don't be so hostile, Pine Tree_ ," Bill laughed. " _I came here to congratulate you! You actually managed to turn Gideon on me and to reach your sister. Good job, all three of you_." He took a small moment to look at Soos and Wendy. " _Miss Corduroy_."

Wendy answered him with an angry growl, as she and Soos joined Dipper to protect Mabel. "If you want Mabel, you're going to have to go through _us_."

Bill chuckled. " _HA! Such an adorably noble initiative. But... I'd try and find myself a way to keep her on the ground first, if I were you._ "

A single snap of his fingers was enough to cause Mabel to get lifted off in the air; she let out a yell and tried to reach Dipper's outstretched arms, but floated away too fast to be able to do so.

" _I think it's better to keep this Shooting Star safely inside my lair this time,_ " Bill said; his eye quickly narrowed as he glared at Dipper. " _Unless..._ "

"Unless what?" Dipper said; his eyes shifted from Bill to Mabel. One look from her was enough; they both knew what was coming, but Bill liked to be asked questions.

" _...Unless you've got something to trade which is of equal value to a Shooting Star..._ " Bill said slowly and dangerously. " _...Which is, in my case... a Pine Tree."_

"DIPPER, NO!" three voices shouted in unison as soon as Bill had spoken the words 'Pine Tree'. They knew what he wanted; he wanted Dipper.

"So, this was a plan to capture me after all?" Dipper said, staying as calm as he possibly could, while he could feel his heartbeat gain the speed of a hummingbird's.

" _Well, not intentionally,_ " Bill said. " _But, you know... see it like this, Pine Tree. This way, we're all winners. You get what you want – to save your sister -, and I get what I want._ "

"But what do _you_ want, then?" Soos said. "That's the question."

" _You lot not getting in my way is what I want,_ " Bill said. " _Twins get unfocused when they're apart. And when they're apart for too long, they get used to it. I mean - look at Stan and Sixer. Get what I'm getting at?_ "

Then, his dangerous glare returned as he turned his attention back to Dipper. " _So, what do you say, kid? One puppet seems like a small price to pay to save your sister._ "

Dipper remembered the last deal he'd made with Bill. Was this truly a good idea? It didn't matter if it was; the blue flame was already lit, and Dipper was already shaking Bill's hand. "Deal."

"DIPPER, NO!"

Dipper felt Wendy and Soos tugging at his jacket to get him away from Bill and saw Mabel burst out in tears as Bill lowered her to the ground while laughing maniacally.

" _Alright, Pine Tree; you've got a minute to say goodbye. Take your pick_!"

Dipper turned around toward Soos and Wendy, who gestured at him he had to comfort Mabel. And he did.  
She hugged him tightly; even tighter than she'd done before. They were going to get separated again.

"I'm so sorry, Dipper, I'm so sorry!" Mabel cried. "None of this would've happened if I wouldn't have been so selfish, wanting to keep you by my side forever!"

"Mabel," Dipper said, his voice going hoarse; he was fighting his tears with all his strength, wanting to stay strong for Mabel's sake. "You've got to always remember that whatever happens, I will _never_ blame you for _any_ of it. Understood?"

Mabel loosened their hug to look at him and nod; right after this small nod of reassurance, Bill saw his chance to tear the twins apart.  
One snap of his fingers was all it took to do so. While both Dipper and Mabel fought heavily to keep Dipper from floating upwards, even with Soos and Wendy jumping in to help, Dipper was raised into the sky and surrounded by a bubble similar to Mabel's, with a big, dark blue pine tree on the back. The last thing he managed to do before getting locked up, was taking off his pine tree cap and throwing it at Mabel.

" _Sorry, Pine Tree. But time's up; we've got to go_!" Bill laughed.

"BILL!" Mabel cried. "Don't take him, please! Don't take Dipper!"

" _Sorry, Shooting Star_ ," Bill said, clearly amused by the pain both the Pines were getting from this moment. " _But Pine Tree and I made a deal. And I am_ not _a deal-breaker, as you might know_."

Mabel continued to sob, begging the dream demon not to take her brother, who kept denying her every request. And suddenly, Dipper cleared his throat.

"Mabel," he said. "Look at me. Listen to me. I don't need saving. I can save myself. Save Gravity Falls, Mabel; I know you can do it, together with Soos and Wendy, with grunkle Stan, and with Gideon. And once you do, we'll meet again.  
Mabel… I trust you."

And with those words, both Dipper and Bill disappeared, leaving Wendy, Soos and Mabel behind – outside; the bubble had disappeared too, as it was no longer of use to Bill. Apparently.

Mabel looked at the baseball cap in her hands; she watched as one of her tears fell on it, slightly staining the white fabric.

"He's... _gone,_ " she said. "He sacrificed himself for me. Who knows what Bill will do to him?"

She felt two hands touching her shoulders; Soos's on her right, Wendy's on her left.

"Dipper's sacrificed everything he's worked for," Wendy said. "Just for you. Don't let that be in vain, Mabel; fight for him. We'll be with you every step of the way."

"And that's an oath," Soos said, smiling at the small twelve-year-old.

"Yes, we're going to fight alright," Mabel said, while putting on the baseball cap and staring at the ominous black pyramid in the distant skies, where her brother had been taken captive. "We'll be fighting for our lives. For Gravity Falls.

 _For Dipper_."


End file.
